Fat Tuesday at the Original Farmers Market is all about music, beignets, and Mardi merriment

Jambalaya, red beans & rice, and Cajun-style goodies, too, from meatloaf to fish: Perusing the eye-catching and colorful menu that has long festooned The Gumbo Pot is a treat for the food-loving soul.

And getting listen to classic New Orleans-inspired tunes, played live, as you join the queue at the famous Original Farmers Market stand?

Truly, it only enhances the appetizing experience.

For how can a person not tap their toes as they request a tray brimming with beignets, muffuletta, and snapper? Dancing in a restaurant line may not be a common sight unless you're at the famous public market on a certain weekday night in mid-winter.

Call it the perfect meeting of eatery and entertainment when Mardi Gras rolls back around and a stompin' and brassy band takes to the stage that sits just a few feet from The Gumbo Pot.

That band in 2024 is the Nervis Bros.; be there from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, with your bright beads and fancy feathers on, to enjoy the get-up-and-move music.

Best of all, no ticket is required: The annual party, which swings, sways, and summons that bayou spirit, is open to anyone who wants to come dance or listen for a bit.

And, of course, enjoy the authentic cooking found at The Gumbo Pot, which will most definitely be making oodles of beignets.

This is, after all, the restaurant behind the beignet tent that pops up at the Third & Fairfax landmark on the Saturday and Sunday immediately ahead of Mardi Gras.

But Mardi Gras is always on a Tuesday — its name, "Fat Tuesday," says this is always so — and while the weekend tent has now been stowed, beignet buffs can find their favorite pastry at the stage-close stand.

That's year-round, by the by; while Mardi Gras is always a boisterous holiday for the Original Farmers Market, and lots of people stop by to dine at The Gumbo Pot, the iconic stand cooks NOLA-yummy vittles throughout the calendar.